I did a Google search for (sustainable exotic wood flooring( and got a huge number of hits! Check the link below.

Here is a link that might be useful: sustainable exotic wood flooring

Woodswell,

That is an invaluable search term - yielded some great info! It is sobering to note, though, that even the BR-111 has a quiet little sentence two-thirds down of their article that the supply of the responsibly harvested Brazilian wood is not meeting current demand. So - for those who can live with locally harvested wood, all the better.

Also, I remember reading an FSC article which warns that some retailers "blow smoke" by using vague promises of their suppliers planting two trees for every one harvested - which still does not address concerns such as only harvesting according to strict ecological guidelines. FSC also warns against products that contain the SFI label which pretends to follow sound guidelines for their certifications but turns a blind eye to violations.

A floor with the least global impact would be one that that comes from a sustainable resource, is sourced and produced close to where you live by a company that follow environmental guidelines, and of course is durable or long-lasting.

If you live in the USA or Canada, there are many hardwood flooring producers using locally or regionally sourced hardwood species. The hardwood trees used to produce such floors are sustainable. The mature trees are cut and young trees seed in to occupy the growing space. In another 50-90 years, the young trees will reach a size suitable for harvesting if the landowner so desires.

The only exception to this would be forests cleared for development into homes, malls, etc. Such wood is obviously not sustainable and it makes up approximately 5% of all hardwood lumber produced in the USA. We can't get around this dilemma until we start restricting growth. Could our country live with 0% GDP growth as the standard?

As far as bamboo, consider that the companies making it in China don't have much/any pollution control regulation, ship it over with very dirty diesel ship engines, and the product itself may not be that durable based on many peoples experience with it.

Cork floors made from oak trees in Portugal are better, but it still has to be shipped across the ocean with lots of energy being wasted and CO2 given off in the process. I don't know how long a good cork floor will last.

The only thing I will say about certification is that for wood produced in the USA, it is mostly a feel good process for the buyer. In other words, mills that cut trees from non-certified woods follow environmental guidelines in many states that are the same as what FSC and SFI mandate. Many small private landowners (and their foresters) mandate environmental guidelines be followed when trees are harvested. Many such landowners do not want to pay FSC or SFI for their stamp of approval.

This post is not directed at the original poster, but are my comments on the discussion to the general readership.

In my opinion...there is no way to guarantee or certify that an 'exotic' wood comes from responsible sources. Did your wood come from the rainforest? How do you know that it wasn't poached...and do you care?

Yes there are certifications from forest 'councils' and the like, but what do you know about them? Are these councils independent and, more importantly, who funds them?

No wood should be removed from any remaining rainforest on the planet. And, no rainforest should be removed to provide farmland to grow crops. Yes, people need to eat, but we as a species need to practice good stewardship of the planet and of the human population. Population 'control' may be an onerous concept to some people, but the alternative has the potential to wreak havoc upon us. Some people may not like what China has instituted to control its population, but China realized that not doing so would hamper its economic development; they made the right choice.

We need to preserve the remaining rainforests and preserve and protect vanishing species; not doing so may eventually make us vanish. There is only so much that technology can fix. I hope the emerging new generation will realize this and make the world a more secure and better place.

World peace might also be nice.

Thanks. I'm grateful for the wealth of information you all provided. I want to make the right choice for my home AND the planet.

I'm now sure I'll stay away from exotics, and even with domestic woods I'll have to do my homework. I also appreciate the feedback on cork and bamboo and the reminder that a floor that LASTS is a very important environmental consideration.

I hope lots of folks are reading this thread.

Sadly, economic pressures have led to Brazil giving farmers the responsibility to oversee the timber harvesting companies. An extensive series of articles in the NYTimes recently detailed how timber poaching and slash-and-burn techniques used by companies interested only in export profits, will probably devastate most of Brazil's remaining forests. The farmers are uneducated and (of course) not armed, and have complained they are powerless to stop the timber companies. Nor are the state authorities -- Brazil is famous for its corrupt politics -- interested in helping the farmers or enforcing the existing laws.